Life Lessons
by TheLostRelic
Summary: For Annabeth, Life had always been a simple affair that anyone that had the capacity to think could easily sort out. Annabeth learned a harsh lesson one fine Tuesday morning, a lesson that Life was anything but easy. Life's test came in the form of a blur of ebony colored hair and sea green eyes. Life's test had come in the form of a teenage boy named Percy Jackson.
1. Chapter 1

**Annabeth vs. The World: 7 Life Lessons Annabeth Learns The Hard Way**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

For Annabeth, Life had always been a simple affair that anyone that had the capacity to think could easily sort out. There were certain patterns, certain trends, certain schema that repeated infinitely throughout just about everything that you could think about. Logically, it therefore followed that an individual that knew and mastered the aforementioned schema would be the master of his or her own destiny.

However, the game wasn't that simple - sometimes Life enjoyed hitting back, changing the rules, throwing a curve ball, and you would be forced to adapt or die. Annabeth knew that change was the modus operandi of Life, and as long as she changed her plans, her schema, she would always come out on top.

It was an endless fight that was almost Darwinian in nature. Life would change and you would change with it or you would be left in the dust. There were obviously certain schema that changed less frequently as others did, and therefore didn't require nearly as much thought. For example, routine and expectations were fairly constant and she didn't really expect that to change. She would always wake up precisely at six twenty in the morning, ensuring that she had the recommended eight hours of sleep in order to function at maximum capacity. Such things were routine.

Needless to say, Annabeth very much enjoyed her routine. Her schoolmates joked that she was borderline OCD, but it wasn't her fault that she enjoyed color coding her notebooks according to class. It wasn't her fault that all her assignments had to be typed out in eleven point Georgia font, her first and last name already set as a default header. Routine made things easy - it freed her mind for tasks that actually demanded her veritable brain power.

Things were much easier when you didn't have to stress about what you were going to wear to school for thirty minutes every morning. Annabeth merely found the clothes assigned to her two week formula. On the first Monday, she would wear her purple owl shirt and favorite jeans. On the second Monday, she would wear her orange camp shirt and a different pair of jeans. Such things made everything less stressful and far more simple, and in this way, Annabeth devised countless perfect schema to accommodate Life's pressing demands.

Yup, I guess you could say that Annabeth Chase had Life figured out, but in the back of her mind, she smugly and disappointedly wondered if that was it. If Life was so easy to conquer then why in the world did so many people struggle with it? She was pretty sure that she wasn't smarter than Einstein, but she knew that he would often remark about Life and it's complexity. Maybe she was just specially attuned to Life's demands, and that was something that she would have deal with in perpetual disappointment. Maybe Life just wasn't as interesting as people made it out to be.

"Oh, well," she thought. At least it was easy.

* * *

**Lesson 1: Humility**

* * *

Annabeth learned a harsh lesson one fine Tuesday morning, a lesson that Life was anything but easy. You see, Life had decided to throw Annabeth the ultimate curveball, to dastardly introduce an entirely new rule book instead of changing the old ones, to hit Annabeth with a speedy freight train instead of a punch. Life, it seemed, had decided to test our young heroine, and it made sure to catch her woefully unaware.

Life's test came in the form of a blur of ebony colored hair and sea green eyes. To be specific, it came crashing down in front of her feet, and looked up at her with a blithe smile that made her blood boil and her heart flutter. Life's test had come in the form of a teenage boy named Percy Jackson.

"Oh, bring it on," Annabeth thought foolishly. She would surely best Life yet again and reassert her dominance, this time unquestionably. She would beat Life into submission, until it cried uncle, until her not-so-worthy foe lay vanquished at her feet.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm Percy, Percy Jackson," he said, extending his hand as Annabeth searched him with a critical, calculating gaze.

The boy didn't squirm like the others did, and that told her that he wasn't as stupid as he looked.

"Annabeth Chase," she declared pretentiously, not offering her hand in response. She didn't add, "I will defeat you, Percy Jackson," because that might have been a tinge melodramatic.

Sniffing snottily, Annabeth turned on her heels and strode away from the careless boy, her head held high.

Later that day, Life decided to punch back a little harder, finding Annabeth a worthy match. So at lunch, Annabeth ended up tripping on a stray banana peel and landed right in front of Percy's feet. The raven haired teen helped her up chivalrously, that rage-inducingly blithe smile still tugging at his lips.

The message could not have been clearer: "Fine, don't want to shake his hand? I'll make you bow." That's what Life was saying, and she knew it. It had the gall to try to teach her a lesson in humility, but it was sorely mistaken if it thought it had bested her.

Furiously, she brushed the dirt off her jeans, still not accepting Percy's extended hand.

"I'm fine," she snapped, her vicious outburst doing nothing to disrupt Percy's blase demeanor. Instead, Percy shrugged and returned to drinking a can of pepsi through a blue licorice straw, looking at pictures of colorful fish in a National Geographic magazine.

Annabeth stared blankly at the boy who was now completely immersed in his _ogling_. She noticed the way his lips moved as he read the caption underneath the picture.

That was unacceptable. She would _not_ lose to an idiot of Percy's caliber. That was like losing to a paraplegic in a race, or losing an arm wrestling match with a baby.

Fuming, Annabeth stormed away, muttering foul curses underneath her breath as she sought to create a new game plan.

* * *

**Lesson 2: Patience**

* * *

Annabeth looked up from the scrap of paper that she had written the address down on to the navy blue door that led inside the house. After taking a deep breath, she knocked confidently on the door, not once, not twice, but thrice like she always did. Once she finished knocking, she stepped back and straightened her posture to appear presentable.

The door opened and she instantly thought, "I have definitely got the wrong address."

"Hey Annabeth! What are you doing here?" Percy asked, peering from behind his door with his smarmy smile, driving Annabeth absolutely insane. How was it that the left corner of his mouth lifted slightly higher than the right? Why couldn't he just smile like normal people and be symmetrical? Gosh, he was so infuriating! Annabeth was certain he did it on purpose just to annoy her.

Annabeth gave him a pointed look, trying to communicate all the disdain she felt for him in a single glance, before saying, "Well, I was going to tutor someone, but it looks like I got the wrong address."

Percy opened the door completely now, and leaned up against the doorway. The smell of fresh baked cookies wafted out of the open door, and teased Annabeth's olfactory senses. Life had decided to tempt her, but she wasn't going to submit to cookies. She was pretty sure that Life was insulting her for thinking that she would fall for such childish bait.

"Huh, I was actually waiting for my tutor, but she's running late," Percy said absent-mindedly, and Annabeth frowned before all the pieces fell together.

"Oh dear god, no!" Annabeth screamed silently in her mind before glaring violently at Percy.

"Well, I'm your tutor so step aside and let's make this as quick as possible," she said, shoving him and entering his house without permission.

An hour later, Percy still struggled with the same stupid reading question that he had been stuck on for the last thirty minutes. His hand would all too frequently reach for a freshly baked cookie that he would then chew on thoughtfully before mouthing the words for a few seconds and repeating the process again. When Percy mouthed the words to the question his forty third time (Annabeth was counting), Annabeth snapped.

"Good god, why do you have to be so stupid? You aren't even trying! Actually use your brain for once and stop wasting my time!" Annabeth fumed, her hands shaking with anger.

Percy gazed up from the textbook, his face placid, before that same insufferable smile passed across his face. With a soft voice, he said, "I'm sorry for being such a bad student. I promise I'm trying hard. You're a really good teacher, Annabeth. Thanks for putting up with me for so far. Most of the others quit by now."

Annabeth harrumphed, trying not to succumb to his flattery, but his genuine tone and her innate hubris made it impossible for her not to feel a little smug. "Yeah, well, I guess it's alright. Just stop being so... so _Seaweed Brained_, and I might save you yet," she retorted.

After another two hours, Annabeth packed her things up and made to leave, but Sally, Percy's mother, called her into the kitchen to talk. Percy had made only an inkling of progress, and Annabeth had snapped at him repeatedly throughout the session only to have Percy pacify her with compliments that she couldn't help but think were sarcastic. That ever present smile made it hard for her to believe a single word that came out of his mouth.

"Annabeth, here's your money for today's session. How's he doing?" Sally asked earnestly, her gently blue eyes sparkling anxiously.

Despite Annabeth's smoldering disdain for her son, she found it impossible to dislike his mother. "Oh, he'll get there Ms. Jackson, with a little help from me," she said, pride oozing out of her voice.

Sally pursed her lips and nodded in a clipped fashion. "How did you deal with his dyslexia?" Sally asked, and Annabeth stared back blankly.

"Dyslexia?" Annabeth repeated.

"_Dyslexia_," Sally said again, her eyes narrowing on the blonde teen in front of her.

Annabeth felt as though she had gotten slapped in the face. She had spent the last two hours and thirty minutes screaming, berating, insulting a boy about his stupidity, saying that he was an awful human being for purposefully wasting her time and making a mockery of what she was trying to do, when he had been dyslexic all along.

Why didn't he tell her? Why did he insist on complimenting and placating her? He could have easily snapped back, but Percy's temper never mounted throughout all her verbal abuses. Instead, he had been completely patient with her, never swooping down to Annabeth's level even when she was red in the face.

Annabeth left the Jackson resident that night, almost in tears, unable to face Percy with his callous, ingratiating smile.

* * *

**Lesson 3: Catharsis**

* * *

Percy truly was the ultimate test that Life had hurled in Annabeth's direction. He threw a monkey wrench into every one of her carefully laid plans and schema, leaving unbridled chaos in his wake. It seemed that Annabeth was always playing catch up with him, trying desperately to pick up the pieces that Percy so carelessly left behind.

She didn't apologize to him when she saw him at school the following Monday, and Percy never asked her to. Instead of relieving her of her guilt, his willful disregard of her childish and hurtful behavior only served to accentuate and amplify it. Tension built up inside her and guilt fermented and stewed in the recesses of her brain.

Her pride would not allow her to apologize, especially not to an intolerable idiot like Percy. Besides, if Percy was hurt or upset by her words, he could've told her to stop or told her the truth about his dyslexia, so technically it was his fault. And if he didn't care enough to ask her to stop, then why should she care?

Again, this did nothing to assuage her growing guilt, and she cursed his name even as she walked up to him in Biology (his best subject) with the intent of apologizing. She hated him for his indifference towards everything, she hated him for acting polite and charming when he was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, but most of all, she hated him for putting her in the position.

"Iapologizeforbeingmeantoyoue venthoughyoutotallydeservedi tbecauseyouwereaSeaweedBrain andwhydidn'tyoutellmeyouhaddyslexiayous tupididiot?" Annabeth sped through her apology, slurring her words.

Percy merely flitted his brilliant sea green eyes up to look at her languidly, and then Annabeth's _favorite_ smile slid across his face as he studied her.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Percy asked politely, his smile persisting.

A solitary vein bulged on Annabeth's forehead. "A POX UPON YOU, PERCY JACKSON. GO BURY YOURSELF IN A HOLE!" Annabeth screamed, turning heads around the classroom, before stalking away and swearing under her breath. All the while, she could _feel_ Percy's sly sea green eyes burning holes into the back of her head.

"We have another tutoring session today! Don't be late!" He called back after her, and Annabeth groaned as she left the room.

However the second she stepped outside the room, she felt as though a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Blissfully, she realized that there was no guilt anymore, and she felt as free as a bird. She froze when she realize that she had been had.

Life was clearly telling her: "See, if you apologize, you won't feel guilty."

Annabeth groaned before cracking her knuckles determinedly. Even though Life had won the battle, she was still going to win the war, and she knew just how to do it.

* * *

**Lesson 4: Improvisation**

* * *

Things went back to being simple now that Annabeth had a plan. Or at least, they were going to be simple once her master plan went into action. In order to conquer Life, she needed to conquer Percy. Percy was a boy. Boys like pretty girls. Annabeth was a pretty girl. Annabeth was going to make Percy Jackson fall for her, and she was going to make him fall hard.

She began by being noticeably nicer to him, often saying hi or waving to him in the hall ways. She would laugh at everything that he said to make him feel like he was funny even though Annabeth thought he was being a "supreme idjit." She would occasionally make eye contact with him in class only to speedily avert her gaze to give off the illusion that she was interested in him, but embarrassed to admit it. She would find excuses to try to have physical contact with him; brushing his arms gently when she walked by, touching his fingers when they exchanged papers, occasionally tossing her hair towards him.

Yup, this was a fool proof plan. At least, according to WikiHow's "How To Get A Boy To Like You" article it was.

Annabeth had to admit that she was doing a fine job with her escapades, acting like a Hollywood star. She was sure that she would have Percy eating out of the palm of her hand within a month, and once again, she would reclaim her rightful throne, defeating Life yet again.

A week passed, and Annabeth was not at all happy with her progress. Instead of being enamored with her, Percy merely regarded her warily whenever she laughed unconvincingly, or whenever her finger tips grazed against his lanky arms. If anything, he seemed to be holding her at a distance instead of begging for more, and so Annabeth decided to improvise.

She dragged Percy away from his friends during lunch, led him to the back of the library, and kissed him full on the mouth.

For a second, the raven haired teen stood there in shock and then tried to gently pull away, but she held him there so that he could see what he was missing. After kissing her, he wouldn't be able to resist her, and then Percy would finally fold to her will.

Finally, Percy did manage to tear away from her, and Annabeth delighted in the fact that his typical blithe smile didn't find its way across his face. Instead, Percy looked at her blankly before shaking his head and walking away without a word, leaving Annabeth alone and confused.

This was not going according to plan. He was supposed to fall to his knees and profess his undying love for her. So why did Percy give her a wry, almost disgusted smile and then walk away from her?

"Wait," Annabeth thought. "Did I just get rejected?"

For the rest of the week, Annabeth avoided Percy, feeling incredibly hurt and embarrassed that he had rejected her so callously. What more could he want? He was supposed to be a simpleton, wasn't he? He was supposed to be a ball of quivering hormones and lust that would jump on the opportunity to make out with a hot girl like herself. Maybe he was too stupid to enjoy someone as exquisite and sophisticated as Annabeth. Yeah, that had to be it. Didn't it? For once, Annabeth wasn't so sure, and so she avoided the raven haired teen with sea green eyes.

So on Friday, at the end of that week, Annabeth was appropriately shocked when Percy plopped down without permission into the seat next to her in the library while she studied her History textbook. She was angry to see that same smarmy smile of his lingering on his face. Wordlessly, he slid a crumpled piece of notebook paper ("Wide ruled," Annabeth thought with disgust) towards her. After shooting him a suspicious glance, she carefully unfurled the paper and read over the words quickly.

_Come with me. I have to show you something. _

With great reluctance, Annabeth followed the lanky boy out the library and out onto the school courtyard. He sat down unceremoniously on the bench while Annabeth stood uncertainly, racking her brain for a familiar trend that would help her understand the events unfolding before her. Finding none, she gave up and acquiesced to his request to sit down beside him. Annabeth placed herself at the opposite end of the bench, having abandoned her previous tactic.

For a while, Percy said nothing, content to lean back on the bench and stare up at the clouds. Annabeth sat patiently, trying not to fidget, as she waited for him to speak. Her previous encounters with Percy had shown her that patience was essential if you wanted to deal with him and his eccentric ways. However, the limits of her newfound patience only lasted so long, and so it was understandable that she finally burst out saying, "So why am I out here?"

Percy looked at her lazily, his Cheshire Cat smile lingering on his face, and he said, "Well, _we_ are out here because I want us to get to know each other better."

"Huh?" Annabeth asked in confusion, still not coming up with any familiar patterns or trends to save herself.

"You know, what two people do when they like each other," Percy joked, and Annabeth stared at him blankly.

She almost said, "I don't like you. At all," but instead she said something almost equally as instinctive, "You like me?"

Percy shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I think you're interesting."

"Interesting," Annabeth repeated.

"Yeah, interesting, as in, you pique my fancy, you tickle my pickle," Percy said, and Annabeth couldn't help but smile.

"Tickle your pickle? That sounds dirty," she said with a genuine grin.

Percy shoved her playfully. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Annabeth laughed normally for the first time that week, and they began a totally unscripted, unpredictable conversation about pickles and whether or not they should be limited to use in sandwiches. It was strange to go without a plan, but Annabeth found that improvising wasn't nearly as difficult as people made it out to be. Well, she supposed she could sort of understand, considering her sometimes poorly worded and awkward responses, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

* * *

**Lesson 5: Attachment**

* * *

Annabeth came upon a startling realization: Percy was _actually_ kind of smart.

Life had decided to mix things up a bit, and it made Annabeth's job more difficult. Now she was begrudgingly kind of starting to enjoy his presence. Sure he was still infuriatingly insouciant towards just about everything, but at least she could tolerate it now. However, this development was uncalled for because now she had to tread carefully around him. After all, it is hard to conquer someone when you are friends with them.

Still she found herself drawing closer to him. Laughing at his almost endearing stupidity, sharing in his unique awkwardness, and privy to his quirky habits like his love of all things aquatic and how he ate only blue food. He was a strange guy, but at least he wasn't boring. It was much easier to pretend to be friends with someone that was somewhat interesting than with someone that was boring.

Percy could even tolerate her architecture rants, and that was a feat that was unheard of. He also became the only person that was able to calm her down when she went off on an OCD induced tantrum, and therefore became the unofficial liaison between a crazed Annabeth and a frightened student body.

She didn't want to admit it, but Annabeth started to feel like maybe she wasn't pretending so much anymore. Maybe she actually did enjoy spending time with him and discussing topics so bizarre and pointless that no one else would think of them. And as much as she wanted to deny it, Annabeth couldn't shake this growing feeling of attachment that she felt towards Percy.

One day, she finally realized just how much she felt attached to him, and it changed everything. Annabeth was waiting outside the Jackson residence, glancing at her wrist watch every five seconds, and absolutely fuming with rage. She was supposed to be tutoring Percy that day, but he had decided to skip out or something, and since Annabeth didn't have a ride and her dad didn't get off work until their session ended, she was stranded outside his house.

Finally, with ten minutes remaining in their tutoring session, Percy showed up, but he wasn't alone. No, a girl with fiery red hair and feline green eyes was walking with him, laughing sycophantically at his stupid jokes _that_ _weren't even funny_, flirting very obviously with him. The worst part of it was that Percy was smiling with her, not that cavalier crap he gave Annabeth, but a real, genuine smile. He was genuinely smiling at Rachel Fricking Dare, Annabeth's arch-nemesis.

Annabeth couldn't remember ever being so angry in her life.

"Oh crap, Percy! It's crazy Annabeth!" Rachel squealed, pointing at Annabeth, and that's when she lost it. Invoking Annabeth's school nickname always upset her, but given the circumstances and the fact that Rachel was the offender, she went ballistic.

"_CRAZY_?! I'LL SHOW YOU CRAZY, RED-HEADED SHE-DEMON!" Annabeth screamed, lunging at Rachel who squeaked and hid behind Percy.

Percy held Annabeth away from Rachel and tried to pacify her, but it was to no avail. If anything, Annabeth seemed to get even angrier. Rachel wisely decided to leave, but not before pressing a quick kiss to Percy's cheek which rendered Annabeth catatonic as she screamed bloody murder, howling like a wounded animal.

"How could you do this to me?!" Annabeth demanded.

"Do what to you?" Percy asked innocently, and Annabeth groaned in frustration.

"You're an insufferable, two-faced, lying, back-stabbin-" Annabeth began, but stopped.

Why you might ask? Because it's kind of difficult to talk when Percy's lips are pressed against your own. Percy broke away a few seconds later, leaving Annabeth disheveled, confused, and strangely elated.

Annabeth sputtered, trying to find words to say, schema to fall back on, plans to save her, but she came back with nothing. All of Annabeth's carefully constructed plans were swept away by a simple kiss, and once again, it was times like this when Annabeth wondered if she was really dealing with a simpleton after all.

Percy pressed his forehead against hers, and smiled that special smile that he reserved only for her. Instead of pissing her off, she found the smile somewhat comforting, almost like it was a little secret that only she was privy to. His green eyes sparkled with vitality and unrestrained freedom, two things that Annabeth severely lacked and passionately desired.

"You're cute when you're angry," was all he said, and Annabeth knew, in that second, that she was a goner.

* * *

**Lesson 6: Honesty**

* * *

Strangely, Annabeth was starting to tire of her fight with life. Routine was easy, but it was far easier to take things as they came. At least, that's what Life seemed to be trying to tell her through Percy. She could no longer differentiate between Life and Percy. Before the raven haired teen had just been a medium, a conduit for Life to challenge her and her prowess, but Annabeth now felt like Percy was never a puppet at all. Instead, he had a degree of autonomy to him that was unparalleled in anyone that Annabeth had ever seen. She was convinced that someone as crazy as Percy couldn't have been abiding by some sort of master plan.

Percy was like the Joker. Particularly, that analogy about the dog chasing cars fit him perfectly. Percy was like a dog chasing a car - he would run and run and run but he would never know what to do when he caught one. He just did things to upset the established order, to introduce a little anarchy, if you will. In Annabeth's eyes, however, Percy didn't know what a "little" anarchy was, and instead settled on the super ultra deluxe special of anarchy.

There was an almost sadistic element to Percy's actions. He derived pleasure from destroying people's carefully constructed plans, and Annabeth had witnessed him in action before. For all his off-handed ways, Percy _did_ care about screwing things up. He would go out of his way just to mess things up and it drove Annabeth up the wall. She couldn't fathom why he would jumble around the books in the library just so the librarian would have to reorganize them. She didn't understand why he enjoyed swapping the script for the morning announcements so that the poor student reporter would be reading about an impending tornado instead of mild sunshine with a chance of rain. She didn't understand, but she enjoyed his presence anyways.

The little game that she played with Percy, with trying to get him to fall for her was starting to change on two accounts. 1) It wasn't a game anymore and 2) She was falling for him, not the other way around. This unnerved her to no end, but in her heart, she didn't yet truly feel for him what she should have. She knew that saying she loved him was a lie. However, she needed to win her game, Life couldn't prevail and so she tried one more time to conquer Percy, even though her instincts begged her not to.

She refused to accept the fact that she had lost to a Seaweed Brain like Percy and that he had assimilated her to his stupid, weird ways. So after carefully analyzing her position, she sought to strike and to finally wrap him around her slender little finger.

Not unlike the day she kissed him in the library, Annabeth pulled him out of the cafeteria and into the empty courtyard. Putting on a sugary smile that she hoped was alluring, she said, "Percy... I think-I think I am in love with you."

It was perfect; text book precision, methodical process, natural delivery. No one could have determined the difference between a real confession and Annabeth's fake one. She had put in the right amount of stutter, the right amount of uncertainty, and the right amount of hopeful conviction. A simpleton like Percy stood no chance.

Instead of seeing that special grin spread across his face, Percy blanched and imperceptibly quivered. Annabeth found him clenching his fists so hard they went bloodless, and his typically bright sea green eyes were dark like swirling tempests out at sea.

"Don't lie to me," Percy said, his voice quivering with anger.

In that second, Annabeth realized how infuriated he actually was. Percy had never been angry before in front of her, despite all of her craziness. He never spoke back when she insulted him, he never tried to yell at her when she went on OCD rant, he never even raised his voice when he tried to calm her down. However, now Percy was so angry, Annabeth could feel his emotion crashing down in waves against her own body, bathing her in its cold, unfathomable rage.

"I've put up with you yelling at me, belittling me, and insulting me. I've put up with you complaining about how the world isn't as perfect as you, defended you from the entire student body, and accepted being an outcast for the sake of being your friend. I've done so much for you, and you put on this facade of liking me, and I can deal with that because I dismissed it as another one of your crazy ploys. However, this time you've gone too far, Annabeth - you can't joke and lie about loving me. Do I really mean so little to you?" He demanded, and Annabeth looked helplessly at him, lost for what to do.

Percy continued, advancing towards her, his eyes flashing. "Ever since the day you met me, you've had some sort of personal vendetta against me when I didn't even do anything to you. You've treated me like dirt when all I've done is been nice and friendly towards you even when everybody else shunned you."

"You know, I'm starting to see why you don't have any friends. You're a crazy egomaniac that needs to tear other people down in order to feel good about herself. I hope our friendship was worth it, Annabeth. Thanks for making me feel like shit every day that we spent together. Goodbye, and good riddance," Percy declared contemptuously before leaving her alone in the courtyard, reeling.

She had always longed to break past his facade, to make him angry, to make him feel, just for once. She had gotten her wish, and now she was beginning to wish that she had been honest with him and that she hadn't lied. The damage was done, and the worst part was that Percy _was_ telling the truth. Maybe Annabeth was every bit as sadistic as he was; maybe even more so.

* * *

**Lesson 7: Surrender**

* * *

Percy didn't come apologize right away like he usually did. In fact, he didn't come to apologize at all. Annabeth was horribly confused. She was long past her familiar haunts with her schemes, patterns, and plans. She didn't know if she was supposed to apologize and beg for his forgiveness or if she should just accept the fact that she was a crummy human being that deserved to be alone.

She found herself thinking incessantly about him, and she slipped out of her carefully tailored routines. Just the other day she wore her Wednesday shirt on Monday. Hell froze over that day.

Somehow, like her first apology, she found herself walking up to him after he had carefully avoided her for three solid weeks. Her feet shuffled uncertainly, gone was her bravado and pomp. and now she was as normal and humble as any other person. Life had taught her some hard lessons these past few months, but she felt better for having learned them. But every lesson and every time she exercised them, whether it be Humility, Patience, Catharsis, Improvisation, Attachment, or Honesty, she was painfully reminded of Percy and that made her feel even worse.

"Hey Percy," Annabeth said weakly, but the other boy made no acknowledgment that he had heard her.

"Umm, can we talk?" she asked as Percy navigated around the lab stations to set up a dissection experiment.

"You're already talking to me," he pointed out sardonically, and Annabeth winced.

"Here?"

Percy put his lab coat on. "I don't see what's wrong with here."

"Oh, well, um, I just wanted to apologize. It wasn't fair of me to treat our friendship like a joke. I want you to know that it meant as much to me as it meant to you, and that I really miss being your friend," she confessed, and stood by eagerly for his response.

Percy turned his head towards her slightly, so that she could only see one of his eyes. "Congratulations, I could actually hear your apology properly," he said, the ghost of a familiar whimsical smile adorning his features.

Annabeth covered her mouth to hide her smile, trying her best to remain serious despite the circumstances.

"Why did you do it, Annabeth?"

She shifted uneasily. "I don't really know, to be honest."

"I hope you are. Being honest, that is."

"Yeah, I'm trying my best. A really great guy that I met once told me that I have a problem with being honest," she admitted sheepishly.

Annabeth felt her heart soar at the sight of his familiar blithe smile, only now she realized that it wasn't blithe at all. It had only appeared that way to her because she caught in her feud with Life, and couldn't see the genuine, careless happiness that it reflected.

"Hmm, do I know this guy?" Percy asked, his tone lilting and soft.

Annabeth grinned and sidled up next to him. "I think you might. He's a lot like you - cute smile, endearingly clumsy, great kisser..."

Percy perked up comically, and said, "Great kisser, you say? Do you mean like this?" Without warning, he swooped in and kissed her and Annabeth kissed back with equal fervor, feeling that all was right with the world.

When they broke apart, Annabeth forgot about her arms race with Life and realized that there never had been one in the first place. She was just making mountains out of molehills to try to feel like she had some control. She realized now that she rather liked it when things were beyond her control, particularly the boy in front of her.

As the saying goes, Annabeth realized with a grin, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and that's exactly what she did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabeth vs. The World Part II: Three More Life Lessons That Annabeth Learns The Hard Way**

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

So Life did indeed best Annabeth in a fight for dominance, for _once_ asserting its superiority over our favorite blonde protagonist, but Annabeth was never one to make the same mistake twice. She was aware that Life would definitely be taking a few cracks at her newfound relationship with Percy. So this time, she was even more determined to win because she was fighting for the both of them now, and therefore, failure could not be an option.

Annabeth now knew from her previous dealings with Life, that there were certain _freak_ events of nature that defied her schema, and that was alright. She could always develop new game-plans. Her newfound relationship with Percy had obviously led to the creation of various new, and better for that matter, schema and plans. For instance, she now had an anti-female battle strategy that would deter all other females from her boyfriend. It was simple - all she needed to do was stake her claim, like animals did in the wild. _Obviously_, she wasn't going to pee on Percy or anything, but she did occasionally stage minor displays of affection that repelled other females. If she held his hand when they walked or other such small things, many girls took the hint and left him alone. It was beautiful.

She even had an elaborate schedule prepared for them so that she could spend time with him. Fridays and Saturdays were date nights depending on how busy either of them were, and Wednesdays were Starbucks Recon days where they would hang out, talk, and do homework. Annabeth went so far to plan surprise days where she would randomly do things for Percy or hang out with him. Sometimes those days didn't always go to plan. Like, once she ended up being rained in at his apartment when she had gone to deliver some cookies, but he wasn't there in the first place, so it was just her and Sally. It wasn't that awkward since Sally was like the best adult conversationalist Annabeth had ever met.

Once again, Life became pretty routine and easy, but Annabeth kept her guard up. She was waiting for the curveball, the rule change, the punch line if you will. After all, one could never be too safe, and Annabeth always firmly believed in the age old adage: better prepared than not.

* * *

**Lesson 8: Disappointment**

* * *

Annabeth was officially pissed. She swore that she had told Percy that they had a date that Friday seven times every day that week. After doing extensive research and spending hours reading food critic reviews on all of the restaurants nearby, she had settled on _this_ particular restaurant. Getting a reservation was almost as difficult as being selected as the new Pope of the Catholic Church. The fact that she was also forced to wear a _dress_ due to the upscale atmosphere of the establishment was only the cherry on top of the banana split of abuses she had to endure to make this date possible.

She thought to herself, "Only the best for my boyfriend and I," and in all honesty, it would have been the best if Percy decided to show up. Believe it or not, his presence was kind of vital on a date.

Percy didn't answer his cell phone. His mom said he wasn't home. His friends had no idea about his whereabouts. Annabeth effectively had no idea where in the world he was, but when she found him she was going to be sure to make his death agonizingly painful and very _very_ slow.

So that was how Annabeth found herself waiting alone at that expensive new bistro that opened on 7th Avenue, staring blankly at the seat opposite of her that should have been filled with the presence of a certain raven haired, green eyed teenager. The waiter came over four or five times to ask her if she was ready to order, and she kept waiving him away. On the sixth or so try, Annabeth finally snapped and told her that she would love to order if her stupid boyfriend would get there sometime in the next eon. The sympathetic waiter told Annabeth her meal was on the house as long as she didn't tell anyone.

For the next week at school, Annabeth avoided Percy at all costs. At least the stupid kid had the decency to try and apologize to her, but Annabeth wouldn't hear a word of it. She was beyond embarrassed sitting at a five star restaurant, all decked out in formal regalia waiting for him the entire night. A simple apology wasn't going to cut it.

When Annabeth received a note in her locker that Percy must have slipped in written by his mother, she was tempted to throw it out. Sally was asking if she would be willing to tutor him that night, and while Annabeth was definitely verging on telling Percy to get himself a new tutor, she kind of needed the money to pay her way through college.

And so, Annabeth found herself walking against her better instincts and will towards the Jackson household, clutching her math textbook with a death grip to avoid hurling it at Percy the second that he stuck his face out the door. When she rang the doorbell, she was partially relieved that it was his mother that answered.

Annabeth frowned when she took in Sally's attire. She appeared to be going out, which meant that she would be in the house alone. With Percy. Alone. Unsupervised. Suddenly, propensity for homicide drastically increased. Annabeth debated silently whether she would just give him the silent treatment that night or whether she would chew him out and make him feel like garbage. Both sounded equally as appealing, so she ultimately decided on a mix of both - she would be silent for the first half of the lesson, and then she would blow up towards the end.

"Thanks for coming, Annabeth! He's waiting for you," Sally said before racing out the door.

Following Sally's departure, Annabeth made her way into Percy's house, and made for his room since she knew where it was now. So Annabeth started walking towards the stairs which also happened to be conveniently located next to the kitchen where there was a solitary chandelier, casting a sultry, dim glow. Annabeth paid it no head, and was about to go up to Percy's room like normal when she saw just exactly who was waiting for her in the kitchen, or more precisely, _what_ was waiting for her.

Annabeth's mouth dropped open when she saw Percy standing expectantly in the kitchen, wringing his wrists nervously, dressed in a formal white dress shirt and matching black pants. He wore a simple blue tie with a goldfish on it that kind of ruined its serious vibe. What was more surprising was the candlelit dinner that he had prepared. When he saw Annabeth standing there gaping at him, he gave her a nervous smile.

"I know it's no five star Italian Bistro that Emilio Reyes thinks is the 'greatest culinary establishment in the greater Manhattan area', but I hope this is enough," he said breathlessly, still looking at her like she was a ticking time bomb.

Wordlessly, Annabeth walked over, sat down, and took the lid off the dish that faced her. She didn't know how long she stared at the plate in front of her before laughing hysterically.

"Mac 'N Cheese! Blue Macaroni and Cheese!" Annabeth thought incredulously as she giggled herself into oblivion.

Percy merely looked at the ground with a downcast expression, probably feeling thoroughly stupid for making her something so simple, when Annabeth's lips suddenly latched onto his and kissed him passionately.

"You're so adorable when you're nervous," Annabeth said simply, still giggling slightly at the sheer "Seaweed Brainedness" of it all. Percy merely blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, his hair slightly disheveled and slightly out of breath from Annabeth's sudden assault.

In the end, Percy never told her where he was that night, but it didn't really end up mattering too much. Because in a relationship, there are bound to be disappointments, and things don't always go as perfectly as planned. What matters is that you love one another and even if you aren't always there, you try to make up for it.

* * *

**Lesson 9: Differences**

* * *

"I'm telling you that we're watching the football game!" Percy yelled.

"Well, _I'm_ telling _you_ that we're watching the Discovery Channel special on Roman Aqueducts!" Annabeth bellowed, her voice louder than Percy's.

"We watched your program last time!" Percy complained, now louder than Annabeth.

"Well I'm your girlfriend and I won't kiss you for the next month if you don't listen to me!" Annabeth fired back louder than Percy.

Pause.

"A whole month?!" Percy asked incredulously, his voice now scarcely louder than a whisper.

Annabeth sensed the clinch approaching. If she chose her next few words properly they might even get to watch the end of the documentary on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

"A whole month," she repeated firmly, making sure her voice didn't waver.

Truth be told, Annabeth wouldn't have been able to last a whole month without kissing Percy, but if this is what it took to watch some _quality_ programming, then by Jove she would do what it took! Annabeth stared Percy down before his trademark mischievous blithe smile slid across his features, and she felt an unpleasant shiver run down her spine.

"Wanna put your money where your mouth is?" Percy asked challengingly, his voice coy and infuriating to Annabeth's ears.

"What?" Annabeth asked stupidly, thoroughly unprepared for such a response.

Without warning, he leaned in and kissed her softly, teasingly on the lips before withdrawing fractionally so that she could still feel his minty breath on her face. His eyes were half-closed and his hair tickled his forehead, both made him suddenly very sultry looking in Annabeth's eyes.

"I'm asking... if you can resist this... for a whole... month," Percy said, kissing her repeatedly in between in his words.

Annabeth's face flushed and pushed him away, feeling very flustered. "Of course I can. It's you that I'm worried about. _You_ can't stay away from _me_," Annabeth boasted, and Percy's smirk widened.

"I wonder... So are you game or are you scared?" He challenged, putting her pride on the line to ensnare her. He knew that there was no way that she would be able to resist a challenge to her pride.

Her eyes narrowed on Percy's grinning face, a fire alight within them. "What're the stakes?" Annabeth demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Percy pondered for a few moments, pressing kisses against the corner of her mouth just to mess with her as he did so. "Well you can decide on your terms, but when I win, I get to chose what we watch for a whole month. Not only that, you also have to wear a football jersey every day to school during that month."

Annabeth's eye twitched for a fraction of a second. Oh, he was _good_. That would be difficult to top. Annabeth considered her options for a while before responding. "Deal, but that's _if_ you win, which you won't. When _I_ win though, you have to take me to the new Roman/Greek exhibit at the Met where you can't fall asleep. You also have to promise to give me full authority to determine any and all movies, TV shows, and songs we listen to or watch," Annabeth stated, smugly watching Percy's smirk disappear and a pallor appearing at the word "exhibit".

A few silent seconds passed before Percy said, "Deal."

Percy didn't last a week.

"This is so fascinating! This painting of Sisyphus is amazing. Apparently he was forced to roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity because he lied to Zeus," Annabeth gushed as she studiously examined each and every item in the exhibit.

"I'd rather roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity than stay here right now," Percy grumbled, but gulped when Annabeth shot him a pointed look.

"This is what you get for losing the bet. A deal's a deal remember?" Annabeth reminded him, and Percy groaned before dragging his hand over his face.

Three hours elapsed before Annabeth finally finished clearing through the exhibit. Percy had only stayed awake through sheer willpower, and it was arguably one of the most difficult things that he had ever done in his life. Percy spent the majority of three hours counting the number of ceiling tiles in the room. There were precisely eighty three full tiles, but eighty seven if you were counting the summations of partially obscured tiles. He made sure he was right. After all, he _had_ counted thirty one times to verify since they had arrived.

To make matters worse, they were going to see a movie afterward, a movie of Annabeth's choosing. Thankfully, the movie theater was only a block or so away from the museum so they wouldn't be forced to drive there. If they did, Percy would have had to endure music from this _insufferable_ opera called "Carmen". Percy thought the name was ironic - "men" did not like to listen to that while in their "car".

Annabeth hadn't noticed Percy's agony during their time at the museum since she was too enraptured with all the artifacts and artwork, but on their walk to the movies, she realized that he must have had a horrible time. She shuddered at the thought of being forced to sit through the entirety of a live football game. Those things lasted hours and they were loud and obnoxious.

Suddenly, she felt really bad for Percy, and even though he had technically lost their wager, she was pretty sure this qualified as cruel and unusual punishment in his books. So when they got to the movie theater she surprised them both when she casually said, "Hey, I think I kind of wanna see that old shark movie."

Percy stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her with a deer-in-the-headlights look. "You mean the 3d restoration of Steven Spielberg's classic: 'Jaws'?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yeah, that one," Annabeth said off-handedly.

"What about that documentary? You've been telling me all week how excited you were about seeing it," Percy pointed out, confusion coloring in his voice.

Annabeth examined her nails, trying not to smile. "I guess you could say I've had a change of heart."

Pause.

"B-But what about the bet and the whole "full authority to dictate-" Percy began.

"Determine," Annabeth corrected instinctively.

"Same difference," Percy said.

"Look, do you want to watch the movie or not?" Annabeth challenged, and Percy turned quiet, his eyebrows furrowed.

"B-But I don't understand-" he began weakly, sounding utterly lost.

"Jeez, you really _are_ a Seaweed Brain! I'm trying to be the chill girlfriend that compromises with her boyfriend," Annabeth said in exasperation.

"Oh," Percy said, blinking repeatedly as he struggled to process the sudden change in events.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something when Percy crushed her in a massive hug and kissed her about a thousand times saying thanks between every interval.

"No wonder you lost the bet," Annabeth teased breathlessly, and Percy grinned.

"Yeah, I can never get enough of you," he said genuinely, and suddenly Annabeth's cheeks felt a hundred degrees hotter.

* * *

**Lesson 10: Jealousy**

* * *

Annabeth's fool proof plans to repel the female gender from her boyfriend didn't always work. For instance, whenever they were out and about, other girls from different schools would approach Percy and flirt shamelessly with him while she was standing right there. Apart from generally annoying Annabeth, these incidents also made her slightly sad. No boys would ever come and flirt with her while they were on dates, but there was never a shortage of girls to flirt with Percy. It made her feel rather insecure and unattractive. She hoped that Percy wouldn't meet someone better and then just ditch her.

Still, Annabeth never voiced these concerns to Percy. She used to get highly territorial of him in the infancy of their relationship, but as time went by, she sort just stood there uselessly, waiting as Percy gently and politely turned down whoever it was that was flirting with him. Annabeth was thankful that for what it was worth, he never even seemed the least bit interested in the other girls.

That all changed on one particular day when the tables suddenly turned.

It was a typical date at the mall, and not twenty minutes in, a preppy blond and her red head friend bounced over to Percy and began to chat him up. Feeling drained from being so frequently exposed to these affairs, Annabeth just left Percy to sit nearby the pretzel shop. She glumly buried her head in the crook of her elbow, waiting for the customary polite three minutes that Percy always took before he reminded his "fans" that he had a girlfriend. It was a very nice gesture since he gave them some of his time to be polite, and he ultimately always chose Annabeth, but Annabeth was just sick and tired of it.

She was thoroughly surprised when someone poked her at somewhere around the forty minute mark. Groggily, Annabeth looked up to see a tall, somewhat familiar, nerdy looking Indian kid with wavy black hair looking at her with an expectant smile. He thrust a pretzel in her face, and she regarded it suspiciously.

"I got a pretzel, but it's kind of too much for me to eat. I was wondering if you might want a piece," he asked politely.

Annabeth wasn't entirely sure what to say, and his intentions seemed good enough, so she shrugged and accepted a piece. The boy's grin widened when she took a tentative bite of his offered pretzel, which made her hope she didn't just digest a pretzel full of date rape drug. Fortunately, it was just a normal pretzel.

"Do you mind if I sit down? You look like you could use a little company," he asked politely, and Annabeth languidly gestured to the chair opposite her.

"Be my guest," she said glumly, and the boy nodded graciously and slid into the chair.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that I recognize you from a debate tournament somewhere. Are you Annabeth Chase from Goode, the girl that got third speaker at the State tournament?" The boy asked, and Annabeth swelled up with pride.

"Why yes I am," she said happily.

The boy whistled appreciatively. "I am a huge fan of yours. I saw you in your semi-final round and I have to say, I don't understand how you didn't win that round. You should've gotten first speaker - you're a genius," he said, and Annabeth fought the urge to blush.

"Thank you, that's very kind," she said, and he grinned.

"I'm only stating what I thought. Forgive me for asking, but what's a pretty girl like you doing here all by yourself? Shouldn't you have some super model looking boyfriend doting on your every whim?" He asked politely, and now Annabeth couldn't stop the blush.

Unconsciously, she twirled her hair around her finger before giving Percy a nervous glance. She was pretty sure his usual three minutes were up, but for some reason he hadn't come back yet. The boy followed her line of sight and sighed wistfully.

"Must suck, huh?" he asked, and Annabeth looked at him curiously. Upon a closer look, Annabeth had to admit that he wasn't _bad_ looking. She might even go so far as to say that he was kind of cute, in an intellectual kind of way.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

He gestured about uselessly. "I mean that it's kind of rough when people hit on your date while you're both out doing something," he elaborated.

"Does it happen to you too?" Annabeth asked, and he looked back at her incredulously.

"What? Me? Oh gosh, look at me, do you I look like the kind of guy that would have a girlfriend to you? Please, I'm actually kind of still in shock that you haven't called me an unattractive loser and run away from me yet," he said comically, and there was no bitterness in his voice. He sounded resigned to Annabeth, sort of like he had learned to accept the way he was.

Annabeth blushed and turned her head to the side. "Well, I don't think you're an unattractive loser," she mumbled.

His laughter rang out happily, and Annabeth turned back to see him grinning at her, his warm brown eyes twinkling. "Now, it's not fair to make fun of me, Annabeth. I meant what I said about you, it's not nice to poke fun at me," he said.

"I'm not joking, I was being serious," Annabeth argued, and he looked back at her blankly.

"What?" Annabeth challenged, feeling self-conscious.

The boy quickly collected his wits and said, "Forgive me, but it's the first time anyone's really ever said something nice to me, at least about my looks. Most people at school don't care too much for people that don't look the way they want them to, so that usually means that I don't have an easy time, to put it lightly. I guess I'm kind of in shock that someone like you would say that about me," he said quietly, and Annabeth's heart clenched.

She knew exactly what he meant. She had felt the same way before Percy came along, and she supposed that she still did sort of feel that way. The boy's disarming honesty kind of threw her off, and she realized that he wasn't trying to be self-deprecating to just flirt with her. In fact, Annabeth was pretty sure that he wasn't flirting with her at all, and that he genuinely meant everything that he was saying.

He laughed again, interpreting her silence the wrong way. "Oh my gosh, I apologize. I've made you uncomfortable now, haven't I? I shouldn't have off-loaded emotional things like that. My bad," he said, raising his palms in surrender.

Annabeth shook her head frantically and said, "Oh, no! I'm not uncomfortable at all. I was just thinking about how I used to feel the same way, and it kind of stung to remember."

The boy gaped at her. "What? I don't believe that, at all. I've seen you around your debate team to know that you're a pretty awesome person. How can someone like you go through that kind of thing?"

"Believe it or not, I'm not some kind of goddess that goes around school, floating on a cloud," she said exasperatedly.

He looked sheepishly away. "I must be coming off as sycophantic, sorry. It's just that you're one of my idols. Ever since I saw you debate my first year, I've always aspired to be as good as you. I'm sorry if I sound a little disingenuous," he said.

Annabeth opened her mouth to answer when Percy finally came over and tapped on her shoulder. "What're we talking about?" he asked, a certain frosty edge to his tone that Annabeth didn't understand.

"Oh, nothing," she said breezily, but Percy shook his head.

"Didn't sound like nothing," he pressed, his tone still somewhat cold.

The Indian boy smiled at Percy and said, "We were talking about how your girlfriend is an amazing debater."

Percy smiled strangely back at him, somewhat forcing his lips up, but his eyes glared at him. To his credit, the Indian boy didn't really quail or anything under his gaze. Annabeth knew that after getting bullied for long enough, sometimes there's very little that can scare you anymore.

"Is that so?" Percy asked coldly, now deliberately pointed in his tone since he wasn't talking to Annabeth.

The other boy merely continued smiling obliviously. "Yup, she's something else, man. You should see her. She's a prodigy!" He enthused, and Percy's strained smile slid away.

"Okay, that's nice. Annabeth, let's leave. We have to go catch the movie, remember?" He said sweetly, but something about his tone told Annabeth not to question him.

"Okay..." she said, wanting to tread carefully.

The other boy waved joyously. "Oh, that's a shame. Well, it was wonderful meeting you, Annabeth. I've always wanted to come over and say hi at tournaments, but I never really found the time. You know how it is. We should swap numbers so we can stay in touch," he said brightly before adding, "that is, of course, if you don't mind me picking your brain a little more."

Annabeth cast an uneasy look at Percy who remained stoically taciturn, pursing his lips and glaring at the other boy, before saying, "Sure."

After exchanging numbers, the boy looked at his watch and jumped out of his seat, practically running away, saying that his mom was going to kill him for being late.

Percy scoffed at his retreating form. "He's here at the mall with his mom?"

Annabeth bristled at his tone. "Hey, maybe he doesn't have his driver's license yet. Besides, I think that it's kind of cute that he came with his mom," she defended, not wanting Percy to put down a kid as nice as him.

Percy gave her a pointed look. "Cute? How's hanging out with your mom at the mall 'cute'?" He asked, drawing air quotes.

"Coming from the biggest mama's boy in the universe, I won't even merit that with a response," Annabeth fired back.

"Well, I'm sorry for getting a little touchy when you called that dork cute!" Percy retorted.

Annabeth gasped. "First, he's not a dork - I only talked to him for a few minutes while you were chatting up those two girls, and I could already tell he was an incredibly nice guy. He kept me company while you were doing god knows what, and was very respectful and kind to me. Second, I never called him cute, I said that the fact that he was spending time at the mall with his mom was cute because it signifies that he isn't embarrassed of her or being seen with her. That's impressive because think of how much your parents humiliate you in public, and imagine what it would be like if your parent was an immigrant that didn't exactly know the nuances of the American lifestyle. That takes balls, Jackson," Annabeth fumed.

Percy narrowed his eyes at her. "It sounds like you like him."

"Of course I like him, didn't you hear what I said?" Annabeth said.

Percy shook his head and laughed bitterly. "I can't believe I'm losing you to a guy like that."

Annabeth fought the urge to slap him for his childish behavior. "If you insult him one more time, I'm going to slap you and leave. You have no right to make fun of people like him. News flash, not everyone wakes up as good looking as you do. Some people have to deal with the fact that they aren't pretty or handsome, and they suffer because of people like you that are too shallow to see what lies beneath. Second, I can like a guy as a friend, and still date you. I never said I was dumping you for him."

"Whatever, let's go to the movies." Percy grumbled.

"No, not until you tell me why you're so worked up about this. You treated him really rudely." Annabeth argued.

"Because it's kind of unnerving when you see your girlfriend flirting with some random guy who's sucking up to her and giving her pretzels," Percy said angrily.

Annabeth gaped at him before pointing at him. "_You're_ jealous. Is that what this is?"

"Yes, I'm kind of ticked off and jealous because while girls flirt with me, I don't flirt back and I certainly don't accept their numbers," Percy argued.

"Since when were we flirting?" Annabeth challenged.

"Since you were in a heated discussion about how awesome and stunningly attractive you are," Percy said.

"He's just being nice," Annabeth defended.

"Nice guys don't need to constantly tell you how pretty you are every two seconds. Trust me, he was flirting, and pretty obviously too. Why are you defending him?" Percy demanded.

"Because I see myself in him, and he makes me feel pretty," Annabeth said, fuming. Percy stared at her blankly.

"What?"

"He makes me feel pretty. Not many people tell me that I'm beautiful or that I'm smart or that I'm an incredible person. I guess it was kind of nice to feel wanted for once. It can get a bit much when you have girls swarming you all the time, but no one really gives me a second glance, you know. I don't know, it's kind of stupid, but it felt nice," Annabeth mumbled, feeling weary suddenly.

"I think you're beautiful and smart and incredible," Percy said quietly, and Annabeth smiled sadly at him.

"That may be, but you never tell me that. Sometimes it's easy to forget that you might think that," Annabeth explained, and Percy looked away in shame.

"Let's just go home, Percy," Annabeth said weakly, and Percy didn't protest.

The car drive back home was in silence, Annabeth not wanting to talk and Percy not knowing what to say. Annabeth was suddenly struck by an epiphany. The Indian kid looked familiar because he was the one that won first speaker, and had actually ended up winning the tournament by beating the team that beat her in the semi-final round. He must have had incredible humility to admit that she was better than him. They neared Annabeth's driveway, and then Percy stopped before looking at Annabeth.

He took a deep breath and said, "Look, I know that I haven't always been the best boyfriend. I'm forgetful and kind of stupid. I mean, how else can you explain me forgetting amazing dates at five star bistro's or forgetting to remind you that you are the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen? I guess, it was just kind of hard seeing that guy talking to you because he seemed like everything that I wasn't, you know? He was attentive, smart, polite, and witty in a non-rage inducing way. I was sort of scared when I saw you with him because I don't really know if I can compete with guys like that."

"Percy-" Annabeth began, her voice soft, but he held his hand up to stop her.

"Please, let me finish. You know, it's always been kind of easy to avoid the girls that flirt with me. Because all I need to do whenever one of them hands me their cellphone number or something is to take a look at you, and then everything else just doesn't matter. Because no one else in the world can look like you do, do what you do, and make me feel the way that I do. So it's not as hard as you probably think it is because everytime I look at you, I'm reminded of just how lucky I am, and I really truly mean that. I swear on my brain full of seaweed," he said, smiling wryly at the girl next to him.

Annabeth flew out of her seat and kissed him over and over again - kind of crying, kind of laughing - because that was the most beautiful thing that anyone had ever said to her. Despite what she or anyone else thought, Percy Jackson would forever be her, and only her, Seaweed Brain.

* * *

**A/N: Hurray! Okay, confession - the Indian Guy in the last lesson was me, I admit it. I couldn't resist adding myself into the story. Minus the off-handed but genuine remarks about Annabeth's undoubtedly stunning beauty, that's more or less how I talk in real life. I am a pathologically self-deprecating guy around girls, but that stems from the fact that like I said in this chapter, I am resigned to myself. Anyhow, I didn't destroy Percabeth, I brought them closer together! My work is complete. With these three lessons, I kind of wanted to portray Annabeth in a positive light while still keeping that awesomeness to Percy that we all know and love. Sure he's kind of obtuse as Annabeth would say, but he usually fixes everything in the end. Follow, Favorite, and Review!**

**Three things:  
1. I am writing one more chapter to this and I need two more lessons for them to learn. Leave your ideas in a review or a PM. Be sure to explain yourself as specifically as possible.  
2. Do you think that I was flirting with Annabeth in this chapter? It could go either way, but I'm just curious.  
3. I love you guys so much that I wrote all of this when the pads of my middle three fingers on my left hand have been peeled raw. I'm serious. I deserve some sort of prize or something for my commitment. **


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